In another moderate trading session on the Trinidad Stock Exchange the market ended with 10 securities changing hands of which 2 advanced, 2 declined and 6 traded firm with a total of only 26,774 units, valued at $603,287.
At the close of the market, the Composite Index lost 0.15 points to close at 1,161.56, the All T&T Index fell by 0.30 points to close at 1,969.17 and the Cross Listed Index remained at 46.45.
Gains| Stocks increasing in price at the close are Ansa McAl with 10 shares trading to close higher by a cent at a new 52 weeks’ high of $67.16 and Clico Investment Fund with 13,700 shares valued at $309,075 to close with a gain of 2 cents at $22.57.
Declines| The stocks declining at the end of trading are, Guardian Holdings had 1,450 shares changing hands for 5 cent lower to $14 and Prestige Holdings lost 5 cents in trading 4,000 shares at $9.85.
Firm Trades| Stocks closing with prices unchanged at the end of trading are, First Citizens Bank trading 1,190 shares and closing at $35.81. Guardian Media had 2,131 units changing hands at $19.76, One Caribbean Media trading just 40 shares to close at $22.42, Point Lisas trading 75 shares at $3.81, Sagicor Financial Corporation trading 2,000 shares to close at $6.25 and Scotiabank with 2,178 shares to close at $62.15.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 4 stocks with the bid higher than their last selling prices and 3 with the offer that is lower.
Trading shrinks on TTSE
JSE up slightly in early trading
With an hour of trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange having elapsed, Proven Investments
Investments traded 467,745 shares at 22 US cents, up from 21.05 US cents on Monday. National Commercial Bank traded 524,170 units at $29.45, the stock last traded on Monday at $30 and Medical Disposables had 101,679 units changing hands at $2.20 for a loss of 10 cents.
The main market indices rose with a total of 5 stocks have declined and 4 are up. The main market has so far had 12 stocks being active while only 3 stocks traded in the junior market for a total of 15 securities trading accounting for 1.13 million shares as the market continued in a subdued manner since last week.
TheJSE Market Index lost 160.81 points to 96,760.71 the JSE All Jamaican Composite index rose 179.74 points to 107,091.40 at and the JSE combined index dropped 190.63 points to end at 99,382.39.
FX purchases exceed sales again
Purchases of all currencies by dealers on Monday was greater than the amount sold by US$8.5 million and increases the net purchases by $12.5 million since Friday. The Jamaican dollar remained stable against the US dollar but rose against the Pound and the Canadian dollar. Dealers bought the equivalent of US$43,691,010 compared with US$29,230,364, on Friday while they sold the equivalent of US$35,083,711 versus US$25,122,040 previously.
In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$39,437,114 compared to US$22,763,864 on Friday. The buying rate for the US dollar gained 5 cents at $115.78 and US$32,592,055 was sold versus US$22,000,617 on Friday, the selling rate remained unchanged at $116.36. 
The Canadian dollar buying rate slipped 32 cents to $91.88 with dealers buying C$1,362,880 and selling C$897,179, at an average rate that dropped $1.29 to $93.99. The rate for buying the British Pound increased 2 cents to $177.28 for the purchase of £1,514,097, while £660,200 was sold, at an average rate that declined 59 cents to $179.95. At the end of trading it took J$131.13 to purchase the Euro, 43 cents more than on Friday , according to data from Bank of Jamaica, while dealers purchased the European common currency at J$128.46 for 45 cents more than Friday’s rate. Other currencies bought, amounted to the equivalent of US$853,963, while the equivalent of US$746,010, was sold.
Highs & Lows| The highest buying rate for the US dollar rose 10 cents to $116.75, the lowest buying rate inched up 17 cents to $95.36. The highest selling rate jumped $3.99 to $122.19 and the lowest selling rate grew 17 cents to $95.36. 
The highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar gained 40 cents to $94.80, the lowest buying rate garnered 4 cents to $75.03, the highest selling fell 70 cents to $96.80 and the lowest selling rate declined 10 cents to $90.40. The highest buying rate for the British Pound, remained unchanged at $181.30, the lowest buying rate increased by $1.62 to $145.04, with the highest selling rate jumping $3.05 to $186.98 and the lowest selling rate remained unchanged at $173.60.
JSE inches up on Monday
Sagicor traded at a new 52 weeks’ high on Monday
TheJSE Market Index gained 71.71 points to 96,599.90, the JSE All Jamaican Composite index rose 80.16 points to close at 106,911.66 and the JSE combined index gained 34.45 points to end at 99,265.14.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 15 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 7 with offers that were lower.Stocks trading include, Cable & Wireless traded 830,959 units at 44 cents, Caribbean Cement ended with 42,304 shares changing hands at $4.99 after gaining 14 cents. Carreras closed with 47,127 stocks units trading and lost 93 cents at $48.07, Desnoes & Geddes gained 45 cents with just 1,404 units trading, to end at $8, Grace Kennedy had 3,560 shares changing hands after losing 5 cents to end at $63.90. Hardware & Lumber traded 20,000 stocks units with a loss of $1 to close at $18. Jamaica Broilers traded 250,000 shares at $5.50 after shedding 25 cents, Jamaica Stock Exchange traded 9,331 shares to close unchanged at $6.35, JMMB Group closed with 23,587 shares changing hands at $7.45 for a 15 rise, Mayberry Investments had 11,195 units changing hands at $2.88,
National Commercial Bank traded 48,527 units to close at $30, after gaining 50 cents. Pulse Investments had 306,000 shares trading at a 52 weeks’ high of 55 cents, to record a gain of 10 cents. Radio Jamaica traded 25,185 stocks units with a loss of 1 cent, to close at $3, Sagicor Group traded 776,521 shares to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $12.60, after putting on 54 cents, Scotia Group ended with 14,717 shares trading unchanged at $23.10. Seprod ended with 19,041 shares changing hands at $15.45 for a gain of 7 cents, Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share traded 435,206 units at $2 and Jamaica Money Market Brokers 8.75% preference share traded 324,497 units at $3.
Junior market slips slightly
Cargo Handlers closed at a new high of $24 on Monday
At the close of the market, there were 5 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and only 4 with lower offers. Trading ended with 4 securities closing with no bids to buy and 9 securities that had no stocks being offered for sale.
Stocks trading in the junior market are, Cargo Handlers traded at a new high of $24 with 1,415 units to gain 49 cents on Friday’s last sale price.
Caribbean Cream traded at a new all-time high of $2 but slipped back to $1.85 having traded 36,865 shares and closed with the offer at $1.80 to sell 100 shares. General Accident Insurance concluded trading with 106,178 shares changing hands to close 19 cents lower at $1.56, Jamaican Teas closed with only 2,070 shares trading at $3.52, for a 2 cents fall, Lasco Distributors traded 252,985 shares, 1 cent higher at $1.41, Lasco Financial Services finished trading with 1,202,900 units, the price gained 4 cents to $2.04. Lasco Manufacturing had trading in 23,584 shares to gain 1 cent to $1.46, Medical Disposables contributed 8,000 shares with the price rising 20 cents, to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $2.30 and Paramount Trading ended trading with 2,542 shares with a decline of 50 cents at $5.
Scotiabank drops 40 cents on TTSE
Scotiabank drops 40 cents on TTSE on Monday
At the close of the market, the Composite Index lost 0.64 points to close at 1,161.71, the All T&T Index fell by 1.29 points to close at 1,969.47 and the Cross Listed Index remained at 46.45.
Gains| The only stocks increasing in price at the close is National Flour trading 1,000 shares to close with a gain of 5 cents at new 52 weeks’ high of $2.05.
Declines| The stocks declining at the end of trading are, Ansa Merchant Bank with 150 shares trading to close down a cent at $38.94 and Scotiabank with 1,000 shares, declined 40 cents to close at $62.15.
Firm Trades| Stocks closing with prices unchanged at the end of trading are, Clico Investment Fund with 10,170 shares valued at
$229,334 to close unchanged at $22.55, First Citizens Bank trading 4,532 shares valued at $162,290 to close at $35.81, Flavorite Foods had 27,676 units changing hands at $4.80, Massy Holdings trading 346 shares to close at $64.35 and Sagicor Financial Corporation trading 4,192 shares to close at $6.25.IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 4 stocks with the bid higher than their last selling prices and 1 with the offer that is lower.
Mild decline at JSE in early trading
With an hour of trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange having passed, the market 
indices fell with a total of 5 stocks have declined and 5 are up.
The main market has so far had 15 stocks being active while only 3 stocks have so far traded in the junior market for a total of 18 securities trading accounted for 2.27 million shares.
Cable & Wireless traded 830,959 units at 44 cents and Sagicor Group traded 689,489 shares at $12.15 to be the noted trades so far. Caribbean Cream traded at a new all-time high of $2 but has since slipped to $1.85 and Cargo Handlers traded at a new high of $24 with 1,415 units.
TheJSE Market Index lost 101.99 points to 96,528.19 the JSE All Jamaican Composite index fell 114 points to close at and the 106,717.95 JSE combined index dropped 190.63 points to end at 99024.44, the junior market index climbed 10.41 to a new high of 896.92 points.
Profit may not be far off at C&W
Cable & Wireless HQ
During the financial year Cable & Wireless added more than 107,000 mobile subscribers bringing the total to 820,500, according to the annual report of CW Communications (CWC) the parent company of Cable & Wireless. The cellular customer base has just about doubled since March 2012. At the end of December last year, C&W stated then that the cell customer base grew 18 percent, year to date to 813,000. C&W is said to have grown the cell customers by approximately 80,000 for the year to March 2013 and for the 12 months to March 2014 by 165,000.
Growth in cell customers increased mobile market share to 28 percent, based on customer who used their handset within the last three months according to the parent company, and probably more, based on all their customers with credit balances on handsets. The subscriber base of its main rival Digicel Jamaica, is said to hover around two million, but in all possibility, the number is under 2 million with the growth in C&W numbers over the last four years.
The increased subscriber base rocketed the mobile segment to incontrovertibly become the leading segment for the company. Mobile revenues earned $8.7 billion up 30 percent year on year; fixed voice remained flat at $6.5 billion, managed services at $3.6 billion was 25 percent higher than in 2014 and broadband & video at $2.7 billion compares to $2.3 billion or 17 percent increase year on year.
Some $4.5 billion of the exceptional charge relates directly to the flow acquisition. How much income will flow into C&W Jamaica from that operation is unknown at this time, but it should mean at least reduced cost for C&W from its existing operation. Revenues should continue to grow with the mobile customers added last year, generating income for the full year rather than part thereof, as occurred in the years of acquisition. The company should continue to add more customers in the current year as it goes after increased market share, particularly in the cellular market. The numbers suggest that the company could well return to profitability this year, based on the above savings and potential growth in revenues.
NCB rating up
NCB gained $1.01 to close at a new 41/2 years’ high of $31.01
S&P raised its long-term issuer credit rating on NCBJ to ‘B’ from ‘B-‘. It also affirmed its short-term ‘B’ issuer credit rating on the bank. “The upgrade follows the same rating action on Jamaica’s sovereign debt, reflecting the country meeting its fiscal targets in the past two years, which has led to improved fiscal credibility and stabilized its debt trajectory. NCBJ’s ‘b+’ SACP remains unchanged,” stated S&P in a notice on June 4.
S&P views NCBJ’s business position as “strong” with a moderate risk position, funding as “average,” and liquidity as “adequate.”
“Given NCBJ’s exposure to sovereign debt, its ratings remain constrained by those on the sovereign. This is reflected in the bank’s ‘b+’ SACP and ‘B/B’ ratings. We will also monitor the bank’s performance and the potential improvements in its credit fundamentals as a result of relatively better economic prospects in the country. Also, in our view, NCBJ is still a highly systemic important financial institution in Jamaica,” added S&P.
Purchases exceed sales by US$4m Friday
Sale of and purchases of all currencies by dealers was US$4 million less than sales on Friday as the Jamaican dollar slipped against two of the main currencies it regularly trades against, but trading in the important US dollar currency was evenly matched. Dealers bought the equivalent of US$29,230,364 compared with US$26,229,816, on Thursday while they sold the equivalent of US$25,122,040 versus US$26,264,239 previously.
In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$22,763,864 compared to US$22,637,066 on Thursday. The buying rate for the US dollar gained 5 cents at $115.73 and US$22,000,617 was sold versus US$24,198,294 on Thursday, the selling rate climbed 3 cents to $116.36. 
The Canadian dollar buying rate rose 25 cents to $92.20 with dealers buying C$1,018,027 and selling C$1,218,213, at an average rate that climbed 34 cents to $95.28. The rate for buying the British Pound increased 76 cents to $177.26 for the purchase of £3,214,767, while £877,534 was sold, at an average rate that jumped $1.64 to $180.54. At the end of trading it took J$130.69 to purchase the Euro, 71 cents less than on Thursday, according to data from Bank of Jamaica, while dealers purchased the European common currency at J$128.01 for 64 cents lower than Thursday’s rate. Other currencies bought, amounted to the equivalent of US$731,597, while the equivalent of US$762,505, was sold.
Highs & Lows| The highest buying rate for the US dollar rose 15 cents to $116.65, the lowest buying rate remained unchanged at $95.19. The highest selling rate dropped $3.78 to $118.20 and the lowest selling rate declined $1.88 to $95.19. 
The highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar slipped 20 cents to $94.40, the lowest buying rate eased 29 cents to $74.99, the highest selling rose 45 cents to $97.50 and the lowest selling rate fell 20 cents to $90.50. The highest buying rate for the British Pound, increased $1.20 to $181.30, the lowest buying rate was unmoved at $143.42, with the highest selling rate dipped 97 cents to $183.93 and the lowest selling rate rose 80 cents to $173.60.
